Rise of the Unicorn

Chapter 1Challenge of Brookhaven

"Your majesty, I have news of the Dark Lord's advances," said the scout as he attempted to catch his breath! They have raided the neighboring kingdom and only a few villagers and a wounded guard managed to escape. "Oh dear me," sighed King Alfred. "So they seized Bordel then. I had hoped that we could combine our forces and coordinate an attack against the invading legions that have besieged the lands of Eden." King Alfred walked over to the scout and placed one hand upon his shoulder. "This is highly disturbing that they took Bordel so quickly! We must learn more about how they have had these victories and so quickly. Can you tell me anymore about this?" The scout lowered his head as he wiped the sweat from his brow and hesitated to speak. But he knew that he could not withhold from his king any of what he had learned and so in a single word, spoken in a somber tone he said "Dragon." This caused the entire courtroom to fall silent. And so he continued. "The Dark Lord's armies used a dragon to decimate the city while the legion waited for the dragon to finish its rampage. The legion would take out any survivors that fled from the city. The Dark Lord himself was seen riding upon the giant beast into the carnage." The scout then looked upon his king, hoping to hear reassuring words that this will not befall their people. "Your highness, we cannot fight such a beast. How did they even gain control of the monster in the first place? No weapon we possess or even heard of can penetrate the creature's hide." The scout became almost faint as he stumbled over his words to inform the King of the news. King Alfred lowered his head in despair, trying to figure out what could be done.

"You may leave now," King Alfred told the scout. "Go and get some rest, you deserve it, with such a well done job." The scout nodded and saluted his king, and then he turned and headed for his quarters to rest. King Alfred on the other hand sat back down upon his throne and spoke with his advisors for the rest of the afternoon, trying to come up with a plan of action. But nothing could even be suggested on how to deal with the dragon. One of the advisors suddenly looked up and asked if anyone had heard about Sundermount. "Sundermount?" King Alfred asked. "Yes your majesty," the advisor explained. "Far to the west, over the mountains and deep into the Dark Lord's land, is Sundermount. It is across the desert known as the burning sea, through the forest of Wursher and further still is the Sunder forest that surrounds Sundermount. Within this forest are rumored to be the most dangerous creatures that ever feared the light of day. What all is there in that land is a mystery to me, but according to the story, the forest protects a large mountain that has a giant tree growing from its base. It is supposed to be the home of a powerful wizard, who knows ancient and powerful spells like none that has ever been seen since the dawn of Eden. It may be possible to recruit his aide." The king sighed and then asked. "How can we move a group of warriors with a representative through the Dark Lord's own conquered lands without drawing attention to the group and jeopardizing the lives of those same men upon the mission? We are probably being spied upon as we speak." The man was ashamed. "I'm sorry your majesty," said the advisor. "It was the only thing I could think of." "It's alright," King Alfred said to the man. He was feeling bad about the way he snapped at his friend. "I know you were just trying to help. We will need to think about this some more. For now I suggest that we all retire for the evening and start again in the morning."

That night at supper King Alfred was eating with his family. The King tried to enjoy his time with them, but his mind was still plagued by the earlier news of the day. Princess Stellalee could tell that her Father was troubled. She was very close to her father and spent so much time with him that she always seemed to know what was on his mind, despite how well he could hide it from the others. The family was very close, with Andrew as the eldest child. Andrew is as handsome and brave as you could imagine a prince should be. He is an excellent leader and takes the knights code to heart. He is a good friend and mentor to others. His siblings look up to him as a proud example of what their family stands for. Anna is the second eldest of the family line. She is a classic princess with great beauty and grace. She has a very feminine nature and is very nurturing. She hosts all of the balls that take place in the castle as well as all other functions that would normally be done by the queen. Her ladies in waiting always prepare for her the latest gowns and dresses. Prep the finest perfumes and bring her the most adoring gifts sent by her admirers. Corey is the youngest son and so has a little more time on his hands than his brother. Though Corey isn't lazy in the least, he does enjoy more hobbies than his elder siblings. He is an equally good swordsman as his brother, but enjoys hunting in the woods to patrolling the lands. Horseback riding is also a hobby that he enjoys and he has only one other equal in the entire kingdom. He regularly trains his mount for competing in various competitions throughout the entire kingdom. Until recent years he has often been amongst the top contenders for the competitions', normally bringing home the first or second place trophies. But that was until Stellalee began to race her one and only horse. Stellalee is the youngest child of King Alfred and is very precious to him. She looks just like her mother who had died while giving birth to her. Stellalee isn't like her sister though. She is very beautiful, but is more of a tomboy than a lady. She prefers to go hunting and horseback riding, instead of attending socials with her sister. She has a pet horse by the name of Diamond that she tends to in the stable herself.